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y @uiten gta-tess @anni @fge A Letters Patent No. 78,798, dated June 9, 1868.

` v IMPROVE-JD GASTER FOR FURNITURE.

tite gentille nin-nh it im ilgtse Enters gzrtent ma mating wat nt tige sinn.

To ALL WHOM IT MAY coNoERN:r

, Beit known that I, ELLIOTT E.' FURNEY, of Qhicopee, inthe county of Hampden, and State ot' Massachu- Betts, have invented a new and useful Improved Furniture-Caster; and I do hereby decla-re that the following is afullLclear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the lettersof reference vmarked thereon, 'making a part of `this specificationin which- I Figrel isa side view of a caster with my invention applied, and showing the lock open.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, with the lock. closed-V Figure 3 is a plan view of the same, with the spindle and upper part removed.

Figure 4 is a side view of the lower part of a easter, with the spindle attached.`

Figure 5 is a side view ofthe upper part of the caster, with the spindle in the same.

Figure 6 is avertical section through line H I of iig. 5.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the Vunder side of the upper plate.

liig'lure 8 is a plan view of the circular lever or lock; and

Figure 9 is 'a vertical transverse section through line F G of iig. 8.

. My invention consists in the arrangement and construction of a furniture-caster, whereby the saine may be rendered stationary, or theroller prevented from rolling, and held in one position, and whereby the spindle may also be rendered stationary with reference to the article of furniture t'o which it may be attached, so that the caster may, when desirable, be rendered entirely inoperative.

y Many articles of furniture which it is desirable to place upon casters, are so comparatively light that whenl so placed upon casters, a very slight pressure against them willcause them to roll, when it is not desired to. have themv moye; and .some articles, although heavy, will stilll work out of their place by constant luso, as sewing-machines, for example, are very liable to work out of their place by the action of the machinery, if placed upon casters, .and yet it is desirable to have them arranged t'fmove easily when not in use, as it is necessary oftentimes to lift them to move them to a good light whileusing, and set them away after use, and stillrit is inconvenient to do so. forthey. are generally too heavy for ladies tol lift.,Y

It is also often desirable to have writing-tables, desks, die., placed upon casters,Y and yet if the common ca'ster is used, they almost always roll away from the .person using them, if, in writing, they are, leaned against.

j My invention obviates'4 these objections, as articles of furniture having my improved easter thereon can be rendered perfectly firm and stationary at any time, and, by a slight movement of the foot in unlocking it, can he changed into a movable caster, so that they may be moved about with perfect use,

That others skilled -in theffnrt may beableto make and use my invention', I will proceed to describe its con struction and'mode of operationv In the drawings, g represents the base or lower plate of the caster, having the ears or projections, E E, thereon, in which is hung or'pivoted the roller D', by means of the pivot-y. Upon the upper side of said plate g is the projection m, thetop oi' which is plai1c or flat, and hying a vertical perforatioma, with `a :screw-thread eut therein. The said platcg has also the` elongated curved projection, g', thereon, projecting upward to a height a little below the plane of thc top oi`- .the projection or bearing m, said projectionrg terminating at s and s' in a vertical shoulder, the space i, around the projection m, heing cut away as low as the base of the projection g. I herrectangulxnv space u is cut or made in the plate g,and the periphery of the rolle-r 4D reaches slightly above the plane of the part h of the lower plate g, as shown at h in iigf4. The plate g has also a pin or projection, e, which is of about the same height as the projection g, and a hole, w, is'also made in said plate. d is a circular piece of metal, having at one end the hole e, through which is inserted the pivot e,` upon which the circular lever d moycs, and at the other end of thesaid lever d is the knob c, attached to the'edge v. The outer edge of the lever corresponds in curvature with the periphery of the upper and lower plates, Z1 and g, and there is a protuberancad, upon the upper siderot' said lever d, saidprotub'erance being higher or thicker upon the Vside n, 'between the points nl and ni, than Aupon the side between the points its and n4, thus rendering. the

protuberance d wedge-shaped, orinclined downwards towards theedge u of said circular lever d. The circolarA lever would beequally pei'ative if the protuberance d were made upon the, underside of the levcr d, but iu either vcasethc said protuberance eZ should'be immediately over the roller D,`when the circular piece d is I closed in` between the plates b and g. y

The socket C consists ofthe upper plate b, secured tothe barrel a, said barrel a being of a diameter inside-Y to `fit, and turn freely upon the spindle B. 'lfhe upper surface ef the plate g is made plane 'or fiat, and the part upon t, the under side,lis cut away slightly, leaving the parts t1 and t? projectingbelow the partt, and the s urface of the part t2 may be-ridged or serrated slightly, as shown in iig. -7. Holes, t'zz', are madeV in the upper plate, b, through which are inserted screws to secure the caster to the furniture, andwhcn the plate b' and plate 'g aroused together,- thc screws may be inserted, through the hole w, into the holes it', hy rotating said plate g, or a space suiiciently large may be`cut away in the lower plate g to expose one of the holes t' z', and by rotating the plate g, each screw can in turn be inserted in place. The spindle B issecur'ed to the' plate q by turning the threaded endfinto the threaded hole a', although in practice the spindle may be either riveted into the plate g or it may be cast lsolid with it; and when the ,caster is to be used'upon any article of furniture having iron feet,- as a. sewing-machine, the upper plate, la, with the barrel a, may be omitted, using only the spindle B, and when used uponwooden furniture, the plate g and barrel av may be used; butthe spindlcB, ii` riveted into the lower plate g, or cast' solid with' it, may be hcadeddown at the top to secure the barrel a upon the spindle B. The screw is used and shown in the drawings in this case merely for thesake of ceixvenience, and I prefer to con- 4struct'the casters for use with a spindle riveted lto or cust s olid.A with the plate 9.

Having thus described thc construction of my invention, I will new proceed to describe the modeiofits operation. i I

The several parts of thepcaste'r being put together, the barrel e is inserted into the hole made iu the article of furniture, and the plate b secured thereto by means of the screws inserted into the holes z' z' z', through thc hole w in the pla-telg, when the caster is ready for use. The weight of the furniture is exerted upon the upper plate Il, the wholefbearing of which is at t1, resting upon the dat surface m of the projection m, and the elongated rp'1c` jection,.g, being slightly lower than the projection m, or the upper surface of said projection g being below the plane of. the upper surface of the said projection m, the barrel a and IpJlate b rotate freelyy upon the spindle B.

When the circular lever d, which 'isrsecured to the plate gby the pin-e, is 'thrown out, as shown in dotted.l

liesin fig. 2,-theroller D is free to revolve, and the barrel a. and plate b free to rotate around the rspindle B, and the furniture can then be inoved easily, and when it is in thev desired position, the circular lever d is thrown in by pressing the foot against the knob c, the said lever cZ fitting into the space t, between the upper and louter plates b and g.' This causes seine part of the-portion t: of the plate 6 to impinge against or rest upon thc'fprotuberance d upon the circular lever ol, which,pat thc point immediately over the roller D, completely fills the space-h, between the upper' and lower plates-b- 'and g, so that a--great portion ofthe weight of the furniture rests upon thc`roller D, and the saidv roller l)l is-prevented from rolling, by its contact against the under side' of the circular lever 0l, while the plate b andbarrel a are prevented from rotating by the friction between. the pretu-- berance d and the portion of the part t2 upon the under side of the plate b, against which it strikes. The part t2 would be equally operative, perhaps, without being ridged or serrated, and the ycircular lever d would be Vequally operative, .if the pin e were made upon the lever, and a hole or socket for said pin uiade in th plate g,

instead of'being made as shown.

ll-Iaving thus describedmy invention, what'I cIainLas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1L The lower plate g`of a caster, when constructed VKwith the elongated curved projection g thereon, and having the projection or bearing' m, said plate g being used in connection with the spindle B and roller D, when constructed and operating substantially as described, and for the purposes herein specified.

`2.v vThe combination 0fthe plate g, having a spindle, B, with the circularlever d, said lever d operating in conjunction either with the plate Z1 or with 'the furniture to which vthe castcr may be attached, all constructed and operating substantially as -hcrein'described and for the purposes specified.

ELLIOTT E. FURNEY. Witnesses:

It. S. Forum', l. W. SMITH. 

